Cap applicator



Apnl 21, 1964 H. G. PAULUS 3,129,543

I CAP APPLICATOR Filed Oct. 16, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.

IIHIIIIHHIIIIHHIII April 21, 1964 H. G. PAULUS 3,129,543

CAP APPLICATOR Filed Oct. 16, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 wil Wm MM @l Wig xxx 72 r 1 .J I ii is" I! u ll i f 25 CM I Wmmum 8| v April 21, 1964 H. G. PAULUS 3,129,543

CAP APPLICATOR 7 Filed Oct. 16, 1961 s Sheets-Sheet s United States Patent 3,129,543 CAP APPLICATGR Henry G. Paulus, 50 Bilodeau Court, Burlington, Vt. Filed Oct. 15, I961, Ser. No. 145,074 3 Claims. (Cl. 53-67) This invention relates to paper cap handling apparatus and more particularly to apparatus which is especially useful for singly removing paper caps of generally conical be bent or deformed, a nested stack of caps usually has sufiicient strength to be handled and transported without being damaged if crushing and sharp impacts are avoided. For this reason, caps are usually supplied to users in nested stacks to make the handling of them more convenient. However, since the caps must be applied one by one to the containers they are designed to decorate and protect, this necessitates a separation of the individual caps from one another immediately prior to or at the point of application.

It is known in the art to supply a stack of caps to a machine and to singly separate them from the stack. In fact many machines, sometimes referred to as unstackers, of varying complexity, have been proposed for performing this operation. However, the machines which have proven their practicality and have gained commercial acceptance are for the most part extremely complex and generally unsuitable for handling thin-walled, structurally weak caps.

One reason for the great difiiculty involved in feeding caps in a reliable fashion is their lack of lip structure. The edge around the open end of a paper drinking cup and around its bottom edge is usually rolled or folded over to impart additional strength thereto. However such reinforcement is seldom found in paper caps which are designed to fit on bottle tops. Furthermore, paper caps must be handled with their open sides down if they are to be applied directly to the bottles. As a result the entire weight of the cap stack, or at least a portion thereof, must be borne on the thin edge of the paper constituting the bottom cap wall. Unless the unstacking action of the cap feeder is delicate indeed, there will be a tendency for the edge of the bottom cap to be permanently crumpled upward into engagement with the next cap above it in the stack, thus making it difficult or even impossible for the machine to separate them.

Caps are commonly at least partly conical in shape. One very common shape is that of a truncated cone with a fiat top. The side walls of such a cap are usually made from a flat piece of flexible material cut to a shape corresponding to a minor portion of an annulus having two straight and two curved sides. The straight sides of the piece are brought together and cemented so as to form a seam. The result is a piece having a shape generally similar to a megaphone. Some sort of a cover for the small end of the cap is usually provided, but not always.

In the mass production of caps, during the step wherein the straight edges of the annulus are brought together, the two curved sides thereof do not always meet perfectly when the seam is sealed. As a result the periphery of the bottom of the cap (that is the edge defining the large end of the cap) is not always straight and may have a step in it where the seam is located. The term step designates the over-hanging edge which results when the joined straight sides of the material comprising the annulus are not brought into perfect vertical registry with one another.

In unstackers utilizing two or more supporting elements spaced to support the periphery of the lower end of the stack, such inaccuracies in cap fabrication can result in serious operating problems. If the bottom edge of the bottom cap contains a step, said bottom edge will have different elevations about its periphery if it is held in a truly vertical attitude. The variation in elevation may be suflicient in some cases to render ineffective one or more of said supporting elements and the movable unstacking elements operating in conjunction therewith. Consequently, cap feeders constructed in accordance with the designs of prior art cap feeders have been found to present diflicult production problems arising out of (a) their failure to feed during some cycles and (b) their feeding of several caps during others.

Machines constructed in accordance with the present invention have relatively few components, are simple to operate, are easy to maintain and repair and have a greater certainty of achieving regular separation of only one article per cycle. Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved apparatus for singly removing caps from a nested stack of caps.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved cap unstacking apparatus which is simple in construction, reliable in operation and which will not cause an undue amount of permanent deformation in the caps fed thereby.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus capable of successfully separating from the bottom of a cap stack, a cap wherein the bottom edge varies in elevation.

Another object of this invention is to provide novel means for separating caps including a body portion having a stack-supporting shelf and an air blast outlet therein for separating the bottom cap in said stack, a valve member within said body, connected to a suitable source of air under pressure, said valve being operable to release an air blast, an air passage allowing communication between said valve member and said outlet, and a cap wall deforming member driven by said valve member for temporarily bending the wall of the bottom-most cap inward and releasing said air blast between the outer surface of said bent cap wall and the inner surface of the cap next above it in said stack so that more dependable and improved coordination between cap wall deformation and air blast release is obtained.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention'will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front, elevational view of cap feeding apparatus, including a cap feeding mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention stationed over 'a conveyor carrying a bottle ready to receive a cap discharged from said apparatus.

FIGURE 2 is a top View of the cap feeding mechanism shown in FIGURE 1 with the cap stack removed and with the motor means exposed and energized.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the cap unstacking mechanism shown in FIGURE 1 but with the motor FIGURE 9 is a schematic diagram of the operating circuit for said motor means.

FIGURES 10 through 14 are sequential diagrammatic illustrations of some of the operating parts of the mechanism shown in FIGURES I through 8 as they appear in various operating positions.

Broadly speaking this invention comprehends apparatus for singly dispensing caps of thin and structurally weak material (such as paper, cardboard, metal foil or plastic film) from the lower end of a stack of like caps, said apparatus comprising a frame and elongated magazine carried on said frame for aligning said caps in a stack, separator means pivotally mounted in said frame and including a pair of vertically self-adjusting, supporting elements spaced along the outer periphery of the lower end of said stack, said separator also including an integral valve and cap wall bending means, said cap wall bending means being operable to temporarily deform the wall of the bottom cap in said stack, said cap Wall deforming means being driven by said valve means to produce synchronized bending of the cap wall and application of air.

As shown in FIGURES l3 the cap dispenser rests upon supporting framework 19 stationed over conveyor means 18 upon which are carried a procession of bottles to which caps are to be applied one by one as the bottles pass beneath the unstacker or dispenser. The bottles move perpendicularly with respect to the plane of the drawing sheet in FIGURE 1 and pass beneath the framework 19 so that the neck 17 of each bottle passes directly beneath the cap stack 16.

The unstacking mechanism is supported upon a base 20 which is secured to the framework 19. Adjacent one end of the base 21 is an opening 21 through which the caps may drop from the unstacking mechanism down to the bottle necks 17 below.

A pair of side frames 22-22 are erected on said base 21), facing one another across the opening 21 from opposite sides thereof. The stack of caps 16 is held in a magazine comprising upper and lower ring brackets 23 and 24- about the inner periphery of which are disposed a series of vertical rods 25, 26 ,27, 28, 29 and 36). The magazine is supported by side frames 22-22 and is secured thereon by lugs 1f951fi6 which are screwed to the tops of said frames 2222'. The inner surfaces of said vertical rods to 39 supportively engage the sides of the cap stack 16 to prevent it from toppling. However, the magazine does not restrict the downward movement of the caps.

The caps are fed one by one from the stack 16 with the aid of a pair of separators 3232' which are automatically operated (in a manner to be explained below) each time a bottle neck 17 approaches the cap receiving position beneath or adjacent to the geometric center of the stack. The separators 32-32' are each mounted in .one of said side frames 22-22 projecting inwardly. As shown in FIGURES 11-14, the separators 32-32 are positioned in such a manner that the outer periphery of the lower end of stack 16 may rest thereupon with the very bottom cap 33 being supported upon said separators 32-32 and the next to the bottom cap 34 and remainder of the caps in the stack being supported upon cap 33.

The separators generally designated by 3232' actually are composed of (a) spring-supported, vertically pivotable supporting elements for the stack, (b) mov able valve means and (0) cap wall bending means (to be described hereinafter). The movable components in said separators 32-32 are supplied with power means, such as a solenoid 121 with armature 122, said solenoid also being mounted on the base 20. To the armature 122 is secured a clevis 117 in which are journalled a pair of pivots 111, 112. Each of said pivots 111 and 112 grasps a spring leaf 113, 114, each of which is secured to and drives a bell crank 109, 110. The fulcra 115, 116 for the bell cranks 109, are located in the horizontal upper surfaces of a pair of support blocks 119, 121) secured to each side of the base 20. The bell cranks 109, 111? are operatively associated with a pair of plungers 103, 164 each of which are operatively associated with the movable elements within the separators 3232. The outer ends of both plungers are bifurcated so that each may receive one end of one of the'bell cranks 109, 110 Which are secured therein with the aid of pintles 107, 1%. The above-mentioned armature, clevis, spring leaves, bell cranks and plungers are part of the power train for the movable elements within the separators 3232'.

The solenoid 121 is of the type which retracts its armature when energized. Therefore when the solenoid is energized, armature 122 moves toward the right when viewed as in FIGURE 3. FIGURE 3 shows the armature 122 in its normal or de-energized position. FIGURE 2 shows it energized. Whenever the solenoid 121 is first energized, retracting the armature 122, and then is de-energized, the armature is returned to its normal position by the action of a coil spring 133 associated with an armature extension 125.

Armature extension 125 passes out of the back of the solenoid 121 into a case 127 which also supports solenoid 121. Coil spring 133 encircles armature extension 125 within the case 127, and is held thereon between the back wall 128 of said case and a retainer 131 on said armature extension 25. The retainer 131 is fixedly secured to said armature extension 125 so that as the armature 122 retracts the retainer 131 moves with it and compresses the spring 133 against the back wall 128. When the solenoid 121 is de-energized, the spring 133 returns the armature 122 and driving train to their normal positions. Therefore the spring 133 also is part of the power means. Equivalent power means, such as motors and clutches or air cylinders will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

Switch means 15, having actuating arm 14, is stationed along the path followed by the procession of bottles (FIGURE 1) so that it will be momentarily closed by each bottle as it passes in anticipation of its arrival at the cap receiving position directly beneath the geometrical center of the cap stack. The closing of switch 15 aids in the operation of the cap unstacker by acting as a bottle position sensing means. Other means for sensing bottle position, such as a light source, photo-electric cell and rlelay circuit will suggest themselves to those skilled in t is art.

As shown in FIGURE 9 the solenoid circuit 141 includes switch means 15 and solenoid 121, Wired in series relationship across line terminals 138, 139. With line terminals 138, 139 connected to a suitable source of electric current the armature 122 will move from its normal position to its retracted position Whenever the switch 15 is closed by the arrival of a bottle at the proper location beneath the cap stack 16, thus it Will be observed that the switch 15 constitutes means for sensing the presence of a bottle at the proper location and for actuating said power means in response to the presence of said bottle. The power means operate the power train which in turn causes the separators to function and drop one cap at the precise moment at which said cap must be dropped to have it engage the bottle neck 17 as it falls and to nest thereon.

The nature of the stationary and movable elements of the separators 32-32' will be better understood by reference to FIGURES 4-8. The separators 3232' are supported in the side frames 22--22 by suitable transverse pivot pins 53-53. Thus each of the separators 32-32 is able to pivot as a whole in an up and down direction between limits defining a relatively small angle of rotation in a vertical plane. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that in order for the separators 3232' to pivot up and down, a small amount of play or slop should be present in the couplings between the plungers 103, 104 and the bell cranks 199, 110.

Separator 32 will now be described in detail. While FIGURES 4-8 depict only the separator 32, it should be understood that all that is said in the specification and shown in said figures with respect to it applies with equal force to the separator 32 which, in this embodiment of the invention, is similar thereto. Thus, whenever a numeral with a prime symbol after it appears in this application, it should be understood as designating a part associated with separator 32' which is similar to that part in separator 32 which is designated by the same numeral without a prime symbol.

Separator 32 is provided with a generally horizontal bottom wall 35. Joined to said bottom wall 35 and to each other along their edges are generally vertical front wall 41, side walls 39, 40 and rear wall 43.

The upper edge of front wall 41 constitutes a shelf 45 having a generally horizontal surface which is adapted to support the lower edges or peripheries of the caps in the stack 16. Therefore the downwardly oriented edge of the bottom cap 33 may rest thereon at a rest point 49 which is a small distance outward from the inner extremity of shelf 45 (see FIGURE 4). By rest point is meant the point which is normally the extreme outward point of contact between shelf 45 and a capsule resting thereon.

Throughout the specification and claims the geometrical center of the cap stack 16 is the point of reference with regard to which the terms inner, outer, inwardly, outwardly, inward and outwar are employed. Inner, inwardly and inward designate things or movements toward the actual or extended center of the stack. Outer, outwardly and outwar designate things or movements relatively away from the actual or extended center of said stack. For instance, the guide blocks 3833' which are provided to prevent misalignment of the stack sidewise on said separators 32-32, are located on the inner sides of side frames 2222' and said frames 2222' are outward of said guide blocks 38-38.

The aforementioned pivot pin 53 may engage the side walls 39, 48 of the separator 32. Preferably said pivot pin 53 should both engage side walls 39, 40 and pass entirely through said separator 32, and that is the form of organization disclosed in this embodiment. The separator 32 is normally biased to its upward limit of rotation about pivot 53 by spring means 55. (Upward limit in this case meaning the clockwise limit about pin 53 when viewed in FIGURE 4.) The compressive strength of the spring 55 should be such that when there is a normal load of stacked caps in the magazine 23-30 the spring means 55 will be able to maintain said separator 32 somewhere between its upper and lower limits.

Within the interior of the separator 32 are certain movable elements and air passages which are best shown in FIGURES 57. Throughout the specification and claims the terms interior and exterior are employed to designate the positions of objects which are respectively inside and outside the body of said separators 32-32. A first air passage 57 passes upwardly through the bottom wall 35. Air passage 57 goes through the interior of separator 32 and has its lower end connected to air supply means such as a short conduit 99 emanating from the bottom of said separator 32 inward of side frame 2, said conduit 99 being in communication with air passage 57 at one end. The other end of said conduit 99 may be secured to an elbow fitting 98 (see FIGURE 8) and an air hose 1% which may be connected to a compressor, reservoir, or other suitable supply of air under pressure.

A second air passage 61 (see FIGURE 5) is located adjacent the front wall 41 of the separator 32. 'Air passage 61 has its inlet end 59 in the interior surface of front wall 41 and its outlet end 63 in the shelf area 45 between rest point 49 and the inward edge of said shelf 45.

Located within the body of the separator 32 is a valve member 65 having a forward face 68 and a bottom face 69. The bottom face 69 is retained in close fitting, substantially air-tight engagement with the interior surface of bottom wall 35. The forward movement (movement towards front wall 41) of the valve member 65 and its rearward movement are limited by the length of slot 66 in plunger 163. The slot 66 reciprocates fore and aft with respect to the pivot pin 53 which remains stationary and stops said plunger 103 and valve member 65 when either end of the slot 66 comes into contact with the pivot pin 53. The length of the bottom face 69 of the valve member should be greater than the span between the forward and rearward limits established by slot 66. Therefore it can be said that the length of the bottom face 69 of said valve member is greater than the span between its limits of reciprocation.

Operatively associated with the valve member 65 is the cap wall deformer. Although the cap wall deformer may be formed separately from said valve member, I prefer to form it integrally therewith. Hence that is the general form of construction adopted and shown in this application. The cap wall deformer comprises a horizontal plate member 77 mounted atop the forward portion of said valve member 65. The elevation of plate member 77 should be such that it is at least high enough to clear the shelf 45. This is important because the plate 77 projects generally inwardly from said valve member 65 and must be able to traverse the surface of said shelf 45 when the valve member 65 is urged to its forward limit. Plate 77 has an inwardly disposed, substantially vertical lower cap wall contacting surface 81 through which passes a longitudinal slot 83 (see FIGURE 7) which is positioned in such a manner that obstruction of the second air passage outlet 63 is avoided, even when plate 77 covers the shelf 45.

Lower cap wall contacting surface 81 is presented towards the exposed edge 85 of the bottom cap 33. The normal position of lower cap wall contacting surface '81 is outward of rest point 49 (as shown in FIGURE 5) whereas its fully extended position is inward of the inner edge of the second air passage outlet (as shown in FIG- URE 6). It is preferable that the fully extended limit of the lower cap wall contacting surface 81 be even further inward with respect to the center of said stack than the inner edge of outlet 63. Indeed it-is preferable that said extended limit be slightly inward or at least coincident with the inner edge of shelf 45.

When cap wall contacting surface 81 is in its fully inwardly extended position, plate 77 covers the opening in the top of the separator 32 between the side and front walls and effectively seals off all communication of air between the atmosphere and the interior of said separator 32except through the aforesaid passage 61. Said plate 77 is held in close fitting engagement with shelf 45 by means of guides 71 and 72 which constrain said plate and valve member against vertical movement while allowing fore and aft reciprocation thereof within the separator body.

There is a third air passage 91 in valve member 65 having its outlet 93 in the forward face thereof. The third air passage inlet 95 is in the bottom face of said valve member. Said inlet 95 being positioned in such a manner so that it comes into registry with the first air passage 57 as the valve member 65 is moved inwardly under the influence of plunger 103. The spatial relation ship between the lower cap wall deformer 81 and valve member 65 should be such that inlet 95 will come into registry with first air passage 57 when lower'cap wall contacting surface 81 passes the inward side of the second air passage outlet 63.

Having described the various elements of this embodiment of my invention I shall now turn to a description of its operation. The operation of the apparatus may be best understood by reference to FIGURES 14 which sequentially depict the various steps in the operation. The positions of the various air passages described above are depicted in FIGURES 10-14 by dotted lines within the bodies of the separators 3232' FIGURE 10 depicts the apparatus in its normal condition, that is between cap dispensing cycles. It should be observed that the dashed lines A and B depicting the air passages are not in communication with one another. Assume that a bottle arrives at the predetermined location for starting the dispensing of a cap, as shown in FIGURE 1. At that instant botle 17 will contact switch actuator 14, thus closing the switch and completing the solenoid circuit 121. Upon being energized the solenoid 121 moves its armature 122 from the position shown in FIGURE 3 to that shown in FIGURE 2, thus causing the bell cranks 109, 110 to turn and reciprocate the plunger 193 from the position shown in FIGURE 5 to the position shown in FIGURE 6. (It is to be understood that a similar change takes place in the separator 32', plunger 194 and corresponding components.)

As plunger 103 moves inward, the valve member 65 moves inward also. The cap deforming means, generally designated by 75 in FIGURES 19-14, being formed integrally with said valve member 65, of necessity moves in unison therewith. As shown in FIGURE 6 wherein the positions of the elements correspond to their positions in FIGURE 11, it will be observed that the cap wall deformer 75 bends the exposed bottom edge 85 of bottom cap 33 without touching lower edge of the next to the bototm cap 34. At the same time it brings said first and third air passages (A and B) into registry. The result, as shown in FIGURES 6 and 11, is that the side wall of said bottom cap 33 has been pressed inward to bring the outlet of the second air passage 61 (B) into communication with a space between said bottom cap 33 and the cap 34 which is directly above it in the stack, said space being provided by the temporary deformation or bending of said bottom cap 33. Because of the fact that the first (A) and third (B) air passages come into registry at this time, a blast of iar is automatically releaesd into said space in timed relationship with the movement of the cap wall deformer 75.

The effect of this blast of air as shown in FIGURE 12 is to exert pressure between the outer walls and top of the bottom cap 33 and the inner walls of the next cap 34 of the stack. Since the bottom cap 33 offers much less resistance to said pressure than the cap 34 and the remainder of the caps in the stack and cap 33 is deformed somewhat further inwardly, as shown in FIGURE 12 until it is able to clear the separators 32-32, then it is propelled downwards as shown in FIGURE 13. If the switch means 14-15 is properly located and adjusted the bottom cap 33 will be propelled downwards at the precise moment to enable it to engage and to nest upon the same bottle neck 17 which tripped the switch as it passed beneath the cap stack.

After the bottom cap 33 has been separated and released from the bottom of the stack and the bottle 17 has disengaged actuating arm on switch 15, the solenoid 121 will de-energized and return to its normal (extended) position under the influence of spring means 133. Return of the armature 122 to its normal position moves the plunger 103 outward, causing all the elements within the separator 32 to return to their normal position as shown in FIGURES 5, l0 and 14. Having completed one cycle the apparatus continues to function each time another bottle neck 17 operates switch 15 until the cap stack 16 is exhausted, the conveyer stops or the solenoid circuit is broken.

Of course when a machine constructed in accordance with the present invention is first put into operation it will no doubt be necessary to routinely experiment with the position of switch means 15 in order to obtain proper coordination between the energization of the solenoid and the movement of a bottle beneath the cap stack. However it is believed to be well within the skill of a mechanic to observe whether the cap falls too soon or too late and to move the switch means upstream or downstream along the conveyer in order to provide synchronization between the dropping of the cap and the arrival of a bottle beneath the stack.

It is a feature of the present invention that precise coordination may be obtained and maintained indefinitely between the movements of bottles on an assembly line and the dropping of caps from unstacking apparatus. The dependability and positive operation of the device are due in large part to the novel separator structure wherein are enclosed valve means secured to cap wall deforming means which move in substantial unison therewith to effect a coordinated deformation of the outer wall of the bottom cap in a stack coordinated with the release of an air blast at the proper moment to release said bottom cap from a stack of caps.

It will be appreciated that the preferred embodiment described above is given by way of illustration only, and that the details thereof should not be construed as unduly limiting the appended claims which are intended to include within their scope all novelties inherent within the invention. Having described my invention and a preferred embodiment thereof, 1 claim:

1. Apparatus for individually dispensing caps of thin and structurally weak material from the lower end of a stack of like caps, said apparatus comprising a frame, an elongated magazine carried on said frame for aligning the caps in a stack, cap separating means carried on said frame comprising a plurality of stationary supporting elements spaced along the outer periphery of the lower end of the stack, each of said elements having a horizontal surface for supportively engaging the bottom edge of said stack at a predetermined rest point thereon and an air blast outlet relatively inward of said rest point for the venting of air blasts, a valve member within the body of said cap separating means adapted to reciprocate inwardly and outwardly between a relatively inward valve open position and a normal relatively outward valve closed position, air supply means for said valve, said valve being adapted to place said air supply means and said air blast outlet in communication when said valve means is in the open position, cap wall deforming means operatively associated with said valve member for reciprocation in substantial unison therewith, said cap Wall deforming means having a substantially vertical cap wall contacting surface adapted to traverse said horizontal shelf and to move from a normal position relatively outward of said rest point to a fully extended position inward of said air blast outlet, power means and a power train for driving said separators whereby, upon the energization of said power means said valve member and said cap wall deforming means are simultaneously reciprocated in substantial unison each with the other to displace the walls of said bottom cap from said horizontal shelves and release a blast of air into the opening thus formed between said bottom cap and said stack to effect the removal of said bottom cap therefrom.

2. Apparatus for singly dispensing objects from the lower end of a stack of like objects, comprising: a frame having an elongated stack aligning means; at least two separator means each including a stack supporting shelf peripherally engaging said stack; normally closed valve means within said separator means and means for periodically causing said valve means to open momentarily to release an air blast; a deforming member connected to said valve means having a normal position adjacent said shelf and adapted to traverse said shelf in response to the movement of said valve thus deforming the bottom object in said stack to bend said bottom object away from said stack prior to and during the release of said air blast; and an air passage connected with said valve means and vented through the surface of said shelf, said passage being in position to direct said air blast between the deformed bottom object and the remainder of the stack.

3. Apparatus for individually dispensing caps of thin and structurally weak material from the lower end of a stack of like caps, said apparatus comprising conveyor means for carrying a procession of containers adapted to receive said caps, a frame situated over said conveyor, an opening in said frame over said conveyor, an elongated magazine carried on said frame over said opening for aligning a stack of caps vertically, cap separating means carried on said frame comprising a plurality of support ing elements spaced along the outer periphery of the lower end of the stack, each of said elements being spring biased upwardly into a generally horizontal normal position and having a horizontal surface for supportively engaging the bottom edge of said stack at a predetermined rest point thereon and an air blast outlet relatively inward of said rest point for the venting of air blasts, a valve member within the body of said cap separating means adapted to reciprocate inwardly and outwardly between a relatively inward valve open position and a normal relatively outward valve closed position, air supply means for said valve, said valve being adapted to place said air supply means and said air blast outlet in communication when said valve means is in the open position, cap wall deforming means operatively associated with said valve member for reciprocation in substantial unison therewith, said cap wall deforming means having a substantially vertical cap wall contacting surface adapted to traverse said horizontal shelf and to move from a normal position relatively outward of said rest point to a fully extended position inward of said air blast outlet, power means and a power train for driving said separators and means for detecting the approach of a container to a cap receiving position beneath said opening and for energizing said power means in response thereto, whereby upon the energization of said power means, said valve member and said cap wall deforming means are simultaneously reciprocated in substantial unison each with the other to displace the walls of said bottom cap from said horizontal shelves and release a blast of air into the opening thus formed between said bottom cap and said stack to blast said bottom cap downwardly from said stack onto said approaching container as it reaches the cap receiving position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,927,151 Blasco Sept. 13, 1933 1,979,089 Adams Oct. 30; 1934 2,654,520 Allen et a1. Oct. 6, 1953 2,738,899 Hansen et al. Mar. 20, 1956 2,976,659 Flanagan et al. Mar. 28, 1961 

2. APPARATUS FOR SINGLY DISPENSING OBJECTS FROM THE LOWER END OF A STACK OF LIKE OBJECTS, COMPRISING: A FRAME HAVING AN ELONGATED STACK ALIGNING MEANS; AT LEAST TWO SEPARATOR MEANS EACH INCLUDING A STACK SUPPORTING SHELF PERIPHERALLY ENGAGING SAID STCK; NORMALLY CLOSED VAL MEANS WITHIN SAID SEPARATOR MEANS AND MEANS FOR PERIODICALLY CAUSING SAID VALVE MEANS TO OPEN MOMENTARILY TO RELEASE AN AIR BLAST; A DEFORMING MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID VALVE MEANS HAVING A NORMAL POSITION ADJACENT SAID SHELF AND ADAPTED TO TRAVERSE SAID SHELF IN RESPONSE TO THE MOVEMENT OF SAID VALVE THUS DEFORMING THE BOTTOM OBJECT IN SAID STACK TO BEND SAID BOOTOM OBJECT AWAY FROM SAID STACK PRIOR TO AND DURING THE RELEASE OF SAID AIR BLAST; AND AN AIR PASSAGE CONNECTED WITH SAID VALVE MEANS AND VENTED THROUGH THE SURFACE OF SAID SHELF, SAID PASSAGE BEING IN POSITION TO DIRECT SAID AIR BLAST BETWEEN THE DEFORMED BOTTOM OBJECT AND THE REMAINDER OF THE STACK. 